Introduction

Part One

INTRODUCTION

To get to know someone, one of the foundational questions you ask is “Where did you grow up?” This is going to give you a good understanding of that person’s likes, dislikes and possibly their worldview. Think about yourself, where did you grow up? Do you think where you grew up influenced you at all? For me the answer is yes. I grew up in a great community of families and friends in Sydney Australia, where you could walk the streets selling popcorn to your neighbours for 20c to get money to buy lollies without concern or thought of safety or having to provide a receipt for tax purposes. Where you stayed outside all day building ‘cubby houses’ in the bush and going inside was a punishment. This freedom and security is foundational to my worldview.

Part Two

NEW TESTAMENT WORLD

A CULTURAL GUIDE TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

Are you one of those people that reads the program before you see a musical or play? Well, I’m not. I am one of those people that walk straight into the Theatre, scoff at the ‘crazy’ people spending $20 buying the program, sit through the first half not really understanding what is going on and end up reading the program over the shoulder of the smart person in front of me to work out what it is all about.

The Bible is incredible, we will be journeying through it for the rest of our lives and I know we will still have those ‘Aha’ moments when we read something completely new, that is fresh revelation to us.

In the Introduction, I introduced you to the concepts of historical context and different genre’s, now I want to introduce you to some of the main characters of the New Testament to set you up for your journey. So let me ask you this question, take your time it is harder than you think, can you name the 12 disciples for me?